Paper, twigs, buttons and shoelaces

(Edited from a report in the Tryon Daily Bulletin)

 

The Tryon Doll Maker Project emerged in Tryon’s historic African-American community when several single mothers and their families banded together to confront hard economic times with needles, spools of thread and scraps of fabric. These mothers, grandmothers, children, and grandchildren, struggling with poverty, turned to what others discarded and found handfuls of inspiration. With the help of the whole family (from preschool to middle school children) they collected bits of fabric, paper, plastic, twigs, buttons, leaves, shoelaces, and an assortment of any number of other pieces and parts of things and recycled them as raw materials.

Using these materials, the families are creating unique African-American southern vernacular dolls. Invigorated by Christmas sales, the doll maker corps continues to create, with children readily joining in during meaningful family time centered around doll making.

The whole family contributes to the naming and writing of a short story about each doll.

“I think there is something going on here that is very good,” said Atlanta photographer and art collector, Lucinda W. Bunnen, who recently exhibited in Tryon. Bunnen purchased 10 dolls for her grandchildren and, while photographing a family, ordered 10 more.

“Mrs. Lucinda, she was a big help” said Andea Miller, one of the registered Tryon doll makers. “I’m still making the dolls and people are buying them.”

A portion of all proceeds from the sale of the dolls is reinvested in Tryon’s historic African-American community through programs that help fight poverty and help build a sustainable future.

The Tryon Doll Makers have received business assistance and encouragement from Mountain BIZWorks and the Small Business Center at Isothermal Community College. These organizations are developing a series of kitchen table seminars to bring the most basic business assistance and community coaching into neighborhoods that need it the most.

In a related project, The High Road Neighborhood Garden Project is working to create community gardens in Tryon’s historic African-American neighborhood and thereby reinvesting in the community and creating jobs. This community-based project extends the Tryon Doll Maker Corps’ commitment to helping their community through recycling and returning the benefits to the whole neighborhood – in this case, in the form of fresh vegetables.

Locally-made African-American vernacular garden ornaments will be for sale directly from the garden with proceeds going to new ventures in the neighborhood that repeatedly strike blows at poverty and address issues of early childhood development.